With the two leaders gone, Xie Changning and the factory workers threw themselves wholeheartedly into research and development.

The R&D team was already very familiar with the printer’s processes and could learn independently without Xie Changning’s guidance. So, she began rummaging through scrap heaps for machinery.

Foreign machines were far ahead of China’s, both in precision and technology.

She had to work hard to catch up.

Thus, while the patent was being processed, she diligently assembled machines. In nearly a month, the Anong County Machinery Factory had successfully put together three large machines.

Among them was a new type of boiler.

It led to a significant increase in production output!

As time went on, the factory workers started to worry. There were only three days left until the Autumn Trade Fair, and there was still no news about the patent...

’Could it have failed?’

’If it failed, does that mean we can’t participate in the Autumn Trade Fair?’

Sensing the workers’ flagging morale, Wang Guofu held a special meeting to tell them: "Have faith in the factory director, and have faith in the leadership!"

This would definitely get done!

Faced with Wang Guofu’s reassurances, the workers could only suppress their anxiety and continue with production.

But even if they didn’t say it, they were still worried.

Finally, Xie Changning herself addressed the issue. "Failing to secure the patent won’t stop us from participating in the Autumn Trade Fair. It will only affect our future development. They might choose to buy our machine and then rush to register the patent themselves."

"When that happens, we won’t be able to produce our own machine anymore."

The consequences were severe.

Now the workers had even less heart for their work. They looked at Xie Changning nervously.

"Director, is there really nothing we can do?"

"Yeah! This is technology that you led everyone to develop! How can we let them steal the patent?"

’It’s too outrageous!’

They knew it. Those foreigners were no good, always trying to snatch things from China, blocking every technology, and giving China no chance to develop!

"My documentation is complete; there won’t be any mistakes. The fact that it hasn’t come through yet is just a procedural issue."

’I believe the leadership won’t let me down.’

The Anong County Machinery Factory was, after all, a state-owned factory. When their factory earned foreign currency, it was counted as earnings for the city and the province.

The leadership would absolutely take this very seriously.

And indeed, that was the case.

Not only was Xie Changyi on top of it, but even the director of the Provincial Foreign Trade Bureau was also deeply concerned, calling almost daily to check on the progress.

He had even stepped in to help when Xie Changyi ran into trouble.

They united the directors of various foreign trade bureaus to fight for the patent!

Finally, through the efforts of all the leaders, Xie Changning secured the patent the day before she was to leave for the Autumn Trade Fair. The patent certificate would be mailed directly to the Guangzhou Trade Fair’s address.

Furthermore, the leadership had paid for express shipping out of their own pockets.

By the time Xie Changning’s train arrived in Shencheng City, the patent certificate should have arrived there as well.

Upon hearing the news, Xie Changning didn’t hesitate to share the good news with everyone. She told them, "From now on, our factory has an iron rice bowl! If others want to use our technology, they’ll have to pay us!"

When the workers heard this, they cheered in unison. "That’s wonderful! We’re a factory with a patent now!"

Everyone was overjoyed.

Xie Changning smiled and addressed the crowd. "Tomorrow, I will be taking Vice Factory Director Wang and the R&D team to Shencheng City to attend the Autumn Trade Fair. I hope that you will all hold down the fort and be my solid support."

"Can you do it?"

"Yes!" everyone answered resoundingly.

With such a good director, if they couldn’t do this right, they wouldn’t be able to face themselves if they continued to work here!

After discussing the Autumn Trade Fair, Xie Changning gave the workers a stern warning. "While I’m away, aside from the leaders you recognize, don’t let anyone else into the factory. Especially if someone pretends to be my relative, my sister-in-law, or whatnot, trying to get friendly with you. Treat them all as traitors, understand?"

"Yes!"

Xie Changning’s words set off alarm bells in the workers’ minds.

That’s right, their factory’s printer was very advanced. It was inevitable that some people would try to snoop around while the director was away.

Snooping was one thing, but what if they came to sabotage...

The consequences would be unthinkable!

"Don’t worry, Director! I’ll organize patrol teams in three shifts. We absolutely won’t give them a chance to get close and cause damage!" The speaker was the technical vice director.

Everyone was united in their commitment to protecting the printer and the factory.

Xie Changning nodded in satisfaction. "You’re all wonderful. Wait for me to bring you back some local specialties from Shencheng City!"

"Yay!"

-

At the Autumn Trade Fair, the appearance of a very small factory drew a lot of attention.

The director of the commerce bureau, who was in the same field, paid special attention to this factory, which made some of the factory directors from the south curious.

「On the train」

The various factory directors from Chuncheng traveling together were all in nearby sleeper car berths.

The journey was long, and hard seats were too exhausting. The leadership had booked them sleeper cars this time, especially for Xie Changning. Her pregnant belly was already huge, making it look as if she were carrying twins.

Xie Changning lay on a lower bunk, listening to the other directors chat.

Every so often, they would pull her into the conversation, afraid she would feel left out.

Traveling with them was the director of the Feige Bicycle Factory. Midway, the director of the Anshan Iron and Steel Group also boarded; both had dealt with Xie Changning before.

Xie Changning could feel their goodwill.

"Sister Xie, I heard your factory’s printer can not only print independently but can also connect to an interface?" the director of the Feige Bicycle Factory asked curiously. Their factory’s printers were still the old-fashioned kind.

Xie Changning nodded. "That’s right. If domestic factories place a custom order with us, I can consider adding interfaces based on their existing machinery. For those without a mainframe, I can add a keyboard and then offer training courses."

Custom orders from domestic manufacturers were relatively easy to handle.

’I can be the Huaqiangbei of the 1970s.’

With someone bringing up the printer, the conversation began to revolve around it.

"They say your printer can print a page in just one minute?" Someone had heard about the printer from Xie Changning’s factory and, at the time, thought it was a complete joke.

’Is that even possible with foreign technology?’

’Has someone in our country really managed to independently develop something that can catch up to foreign tech?’

"That’s right. Manual typing is slower; time is wasted on the typing itself. But if you have an existing mainframe, the printing speed is fast and doesn’t take much time at all."

Xie Changning was very confident in her printer.

As they all chatted about the printer, people from the adjacent car came over to listen in on the excitement.

They couldn’t help it; they were just too curious about this printer!

"A big machine like a printer, how did you..." Everyone was curious how they transported it to Shencheng City, and how they would get it back.

They weren’t the first to ask this question.

"We didn’t assemble it before shipping. We’ll just assemble it once we get there."